The STC will host its first-ever live webinar on Wednesday, July 9, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (EDT) on Performance Guidelines and Testing Methods for Synthetic Turf Sports Fields, with valuable information on the following topics:

ATTN: Athletic Directors, Parks & Recreation Officials, Architects, Engineers, and Synthetic Turf Field Owners

Save the date for the STC Exhibitor Showcase & Lunch on Tuesday, September 30 from 12:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. at the Hilton Palacio del Rio to view the latest products and services by our synthetic turf industry members. You'll be greeted by over 200 leaders in the industry, including synthetic turf installers, landscape architects, testing labs, maintenance providers, manufacturers, suppliers, base contractors, infill material suppliers and other specialty service companies.

If you are interested in joining a committee or task force, please contact the STC office headquarters at (678) 385-6720 or office@syntheticturfcouncil.org.

 

Advocacy Committee

 

On March 14, 2014, the STC joined with the National Association of Manufacturers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 25 other national trade associations as cosigners to a letter to The Honorable Robert Adler, Acting Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission requesting that the CPSC set up a public forum to discuss its proposed changes to 16 C.F.R. part 1110 regarding Certificates of Compliance. The letter also recommended that the CPSC establish a permanent stakeholder advisory group in order to "regularize needed input into product safety issues of mutual importance."

 

On May 7, 2014, the STC joined with the National Association of Manufacturers, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, Sports & Fitness Industry Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and 37 other national trade associations as cosigners to a letter to The Honorable Robert Adler, Acting Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to express concern with regards to the CPSC's proposal for a new user fee on imported products to pay for the national expansion of the Risk Assessment Methodology (RAM) program. The letter reiterated its March recommendation that the CPSC establish a permanent stakeholder advisory group. 

 

The Committee has begun work on an STC guidance document on "how to recognize when a field is at or nearing the end of its useful life."

 

Education Committee

 

With a launch date of July 9, the STC will host its first live webinar on the STC's Performance Guidelines and testing methods for synthetic turf sports fields. 

 

Crumb Rubber manufacturers have agreed to serve on a task force to update the guidelines on crumb rubber infill with the goal of providing guidance regarding the reuse of crumb rubber infill from removed fields.

 

The STC Certification Task Force has been developed and will review the current guidelines to determine if any of the information needs to be revised.

 

Marketing Committee

   

Due to the Haven for Hope Community Service Project in San Antonio, the "Whistle-stop" Seminar will be on hiatus for the fall meeting. Currently, the committee is reviewing the concept including the content, speakers, timing/frequency of the event, location(s) and an overall strategy on the best ways to attract buyers and end-users.

 

Membership Committee 

 

Based on the recommendation of the Membership Committee, the STC NewsLine quarterly e-newsletter now offers new branding and adverting opportunities for members. Click here to download the STC e-Newsletter Media Kit. 

 

The new Member Campaign is focused on attracting more architects and engineers to the STC. The campaign starts with one simple action item: to inform the STC of one or two prospective members with whom you have an existing relationship. The STC website provides you with a number of tools and resources to help educate non-members about the STC. 

It's Not Too Late: Donate to Haven for Hope Community Service Project

The STC is currently accepting corporate and personal cash donations to help cover freight, base materials and construction, and other significant expenses for the Haven for Hope Community Service Project. Our goal is 100% member participation at whatever financial contribution you can afford.

We urge you to plan to attend the dedication ceremony on Monday afternoon, September 29, and take special pride in being a part of such a worthwhile project. Any surplus monies you donate will be presented to Haven for Hope at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

STC's NEW Athletic Directors' Advisory Panel

Recently, the STC formed an advisory panel consisting of athletic directors from various high-schools (public and private) and universities in metro-Atlanta. The panel is providing recommendations to the STC on what type of educational content would be of value to athletic directors and/or facility operations managers who currently have synthetic turf sports fields at their facilities.

Member Feedback Surveys (please take 5 minutes to complete)

To help our STC continue to support your business, we would be grateful if you would complete this short survey. Please share with us your feedback and feelings about the STC and what you would like to see from the STC. Remember, this is your organization and your response will help the Board direct our strategic initiatives in the coming year.

• New Member Survey 
• Member Feedback Survey 

Las Vegas Meeting Presentations

The meeting presentations from the 2104 Spring Membership Meeting in Las Vegas have been posted. All presentations are available to STC members only. You will need to sign in to view and download the files. Please send an email to office@syntheticturfcouncil.org if you require assistance signing into the STC website.

New Science: Marion, MA Medscape Study

Tabor Academy's synthetic turf athletic field does not pose a threat to water quality, according to a report from engineering firm Camp, Dresser, McKee and Smith, Inc. Read more

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential water quality impacts of the synthetic turf field at Tabor Academy in Marion, MA, and concluded that "...stormwater  runoff from the athletic field is not a source of pollutants/contaminants that would pose a threat to the harbor."

Receiving the John Preston Award for Child Safety

The National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS) recently issued their annual John Preston Award given to a group or organization that has made a difference in creating S.A.F.E. play areas for children. This year's award went to the Blue Springs School District in Blue Springs, Missouri for its synthetic grass play system.
Read more

Gift to Fund Artificial Turf at NMSU Las Cruces

A $1 million donation from businessman Stan Fulton will help New Mexico State University fund installation of a new, synthetic turf at Aggie Memorial Stadium. The new turf is expected to improve player development, help with player recruitment and increase community accessibility to the stadium.
Read more

2014 Industry Calendar

Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. EDT
Wednesday, June 18, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. EDT
Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. EDT
Wednesday, July 09, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. EDT
Friday, September 19 - Monday, September 22, 2014
Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) International Annual Meeting & Expo - Kissimmee, FL

Monday, September 29 - Wednesday October 1, 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014 - Monday, November 24, 2014
American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Meeting & Expo - Denver, CO

Friday, December 05, 2014 - Tuesday, December 09, 2014
American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) Technical Meeting - Ponte Vedra, FL

Wednesday, December 10, 2014 - Thursday, December 11, 2014
The Turf and Grass Expo - Geneva, Switzerland

Friday, December 12, 2014 - Monday, December 15, 2014
National Athletic Directors Conference - National Harbor, MA

STC Certified Members Have a Record of Proven Performance & Service

For buyers, end-users, and anyone interested in learning more about synthetic turf, the STC's Certification Program recognizes the following 53 qualified member companies whose products and services come highly recommended by their customers.

Interested in STC Certification? The application packet is available for download on the Members Only site, or simply send an email request to office@syntheticturfcouncil.org. It usually takes 30-60 days to process the application and receive Board approval.

Academy Sports Turf	GreensGroomer WorldWide, Inc.
Act Global	Heavenly Greens
Activitas Incorporated	J.E.M. Morris Construction Inc.
Alberta Environmental Rubber Products	JJA Sports
Americhem Inc.	Kaw Valley Companies, Inc.
Aplix Inc.	Kromer Co. LLC
Appel Osborne Landscape Architecture	The Motz Group
AstroTurf, LLC	Pioneer Athletics
A-Turf, Inc.	PrecisionJet / TurfBond
Bonar Yarns Inc.	ProGrass LLC
Brock USA LLC / Brock International LLC	Redexim North America, Inc.
Brooks & Sparks, Inc.	Schmitz Foam Products BV
Challenger Industries Inc.	Shaw Industries / Shaw Sports Turf
Chemical Concepts	SLA Landscape Architecture
Controlled Products, LLC / Synthetic Turf International	SMG Equipment LLC / SMG Sportplatzmaschinenbau GmbH
CRM Company, LLC - New York	Stantec Sport, Stantec Planning & Landscape Architecture, P.C.
D.A. Hogan & Associates Inc.	SYNLawn
Deluxe Athletics, LLC	Target Technologies International Inc.
DMA / DiGeronimo-Mikula Associates, LLC	TenCate Grass N.A.
DOMO Sports Grass	Testing Services Inc.
Elite TurfCare Group, LLC	Thomas Testing Inc.
Entech, Inc.	TPK Inc.
Environmental Turf Services LLC	Turfstore.com Inc.
Fairmount Sports and Recreation	Universal Textile Technologies Inc.
FIELDS	Western Rubber Products
Foresite Design Inc.	Wiedenmann North America
ForeverLawn Inc.

Welcome, STC's Newest Members!

Interested in STC membership? Apply online or visit our website, www.syntheticturfcouncil.org, to learn about all the STC does to advance the industry, promote our members, and grow the acceptance and demand for synthetic turf.

Full Members	TEAM Sports
AK Sales & Consulting Inc.	Trivium Logistics, LLC
Architerra, PC	Warner Larson, Inc.
Casale Grass
Down to Earth Landscaping, Inc.	Affiliate Members
Groz-Beckert, USA	Gary Geiger, The Classical Academy
Holcombe Norton Partners, Inc.	Steve Schuhmacher, Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation
MoJack Distributors, LLC	John Sorochan, PhD, University of TN
Sasaki Associates, Inc.	Greg Vernon, Jeffco Public Schools

FIFA Preferred Producer Act Global Achieves 100 Certified Installations

Over the last eight years, synthetic turf manufacturer Act Global has proliferated the demand for high-quality playing surfaces by bringing 100 FIFA Certified pitches to six continents. The company Certified its 100th pitch at Kuala Lumpur Football Association in Malaysia in early 2014, the same year the business celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Read more

MIAA Partnership with AstroTurf

An historic Division II conference with over a century of tradition has teamed up with AstroTurf� and announced that they have signed on to become the Official Synthetic Turf Provider of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), which celebrated its centennial two years ago.
Read more

Bonar Yarns Wins "Best Technology Provider"

Bonar Yarns had been awarded 'Best Technology Provider - Over �2m Turnover' at the Sports Technology Awards in central London. The company took the prize for its innovation in synthetic fibers, in part due to the success of its MN Ultra yarn's in the new rugby field, at Allianz Park.
Read more

World's Largest Tire Recycling Facility Opens

Tire recycling company Genan has opened a $140 million plant in Houston with the capacity to recycle approximately 10 million passenger car tire equivalents a year. Genan says its new facility is the largest of its kind in the world. The company currently operates the world's four largest tire-processing plants in Germany and Denmark.
Read more

GreenFields Appoints Jim Froslid as Commercial Director North America

GreenFields has appointed Jim Froslid as Sales and Marketing Director for GreenFields activities in North America. Jim Froslid joins GreenFields with over 20 years of experience in sports and synthetic sports turf. For US Soccer and the US World Cup Team, Jim held several leadership and communications positions.

Recently, GreenFields announced its entry into the North American market. From the 2014 season, GreenFields sport systems are available throughout the United States of America and Canada through a selected network of experienced representatives and quality installers.
Read more

Greg Norfleet Joins SportsEdge�

Greg Norfleet is now Western Regional Sales Manager at SportsEdge�, A Division of ABT, Inc. Best of luck, Greg, as you advance in your career, and please keep the STC updated as to how things are going!

Target Technologies International Inc. Offers A World Wide Alternative To Artificial Turf Disposal In Landfills Producing Post Consumer Products

Target Technologies International, Inc. (TTII) is pleased to announce its exclusive partnership with Kam Lee Trading Company of Hong Kong and its Canadian arm Poly-Pacific Inc. of Surrey, British Columbia. TTII's system converts 100% of the synthetic turf (backing and fibers) and turns them into building products like posts, planks, lumber and irrigation pipe just to name a few. Any residual infill left behind in the turf is cleaned and reused. Once all material has been recycled, a certificate of compliance will be issued confirming TTII has fully complied with its commitment to convert the material into useful post-consumer products.
Read more

The STC Family Grows by 10 lbs. 4 oz., 22.5 inches

Congratulations to Zach Burns, President, The Motz Group, and his wife on the newest addition to their family, Luke Douglas Burns. Both mother and baby are doing well.

Zach, we wish you and your family lots of joy and happiness!

If you have a news item that you would like the STC to post on its website and in this e-newsletter, please add Terrie Ward, terrie@syntheticturfcouncil.org to your distribution list.